Ronald Reagan’s would-be assassin was granted unconditional release on today, 41 years after he tried to kill the then-president, the NY Post reports.
John Hinckley Jr., now 67, was found not guilty in the aftermath of the March 30, 1981, attack by a jury that declared him insane. He subsequently spent two decades in a mental hospital. In 2003, US District Judge Paul L. Friedman began allowing Hinckley to live outside the hospital with restrictions, and by 2016, he was living in Virginia full-time.
Reagan recovered from the shooting, but White House press secretary James Brady was left permanently disabled after being shot in the head.
“John Hinckley tried to kill the president of the United States. He came very close to doing so. We came to learn President Reagan was very close to death. James Brady was damaged for life,” Friedman said Wednesday, according to WTOP. “In 1981, over 40 years ago, John Hinckley was a profoundly troubled young man. He had acute psychosis. He has been in full, sustained remission for more than 25 years. He has followed every condition imposed by the court. He has demonstrated self-awareness and responsibility for his mental illness. He has been under a microscope like none of us have ever been,” Friedman continued.
Source: {Matzav.com}
